Computer malware operating in a multi-core or multi-processor environment may be difficult to detect and remove. In addition, such malware may make malicious modifications to kernel memory of a computer system. Such malware may thus be running at a very low level of a system.
Atomic operation of instructions on a processor or core may mean the ability of those instructions to run without being interrupted by the system. The ability of a process, thread, or other set of instructions to run atomically on a system may be handled by establishing a hierarchy of such instructions. The ability of one instruction to be executed over another may be resolved by determining which instruction was first received, or which one is the shorter or lower-level instruction.
Malware may include, but is not limited to, spyware, rootkits, password stealers, spam, sources of phishing attacks, sources of denial-of-service-attacks, viruses, loggers, Trojans, adware, or any other digital content that produces malicious activity.